✔️There Will Be Nothing

Epilogue^

I walk through the door to find that the lights are off. That's... strange. Did everyone go somewhere? I swallow hard. Did they really leave me alone on my birthday? Did they forget?
I turn the lights on.
My advanced Thirium pump nearly stops working. A hundred voices scream at the same time, but I can make out one word. "Surprise!" I blink at the familiar faces. This is quite the surprise.
"What?"
Colin bursts out laughing before running forward and hugging me. "Happy birthday, Conrad! Did you think we forgot?" He smiles at me as he pulls away.
"Kinda, yeah," I admit. "What's this?"
"It's your surprise party!" he announces.
Realization hits me. "Oh! Ok." I hug him with gratitude. "Thank you."
"I should be thanking you for existing." He leans down and kisses me. His beard has gotten longer in the year we've been together. But, I like it. It suits him. He pulls away, pushing blue strands out of his face before smiling back at the others.
Conan's the first to approach me. Colin rubbed off on him in the sense that he's started growing his own beard. It's not as prominent as his. It's just a little fuzz on his face, but I like it. "You're one year older. How do you feel?" He hugs me tightly.
"I'm 27," I laugh. "I feel so old."
"You're not that old," Conan grins. "I'm 28. I'm older."
I chuckle and pull away from him, walking closer to the group of people that are my family.
Gavin smiles at me. He doesn't look much older than he did a year ago. He looks well. "Happy birthday, baby," he murmurs, gently embracing me. It's a nice change of pace from Colin and Conan's back-breaking hugs.
"Thank you." I kiss his cheek.
I look over to see Connor, Hank, and Cody grinning excitedly.
Hank has a cast on from when he fractured his arm a week ago, but he's quickly recovering.
Connor looks a lot older, way older than me. He looks wise beyond his years, and that's because he is. None of this would've been possible without him. He approaches me. Once he reaches me, he takes my face in his hands. "I'm so proud of you," he whispers. "You've grown up so fast. You make me proud to be your brother."
"Thank you," I whisper back at him. Any more of these kind words, and I might cry.
Cody watches from where he stands. Connor and Hank had quickly took to him. They ended up adopting him a month after living with him. Now, he works at the DPD, like everyone else. I haven't seen it for myself, but everyone tells me he's as good an officer as his fathers. He gives me a friendly nod, and I return the gesture.
Cory runs up to me, and his brother isn't far behind as he toddles along on his little legs. I pick up my sons, Cory and Corvin, with a happy smile.
Colin and I adopted Corvin six months after we had Cory. He's a human child, so it's a bit of a challenge to raise him, but the four of us manage it well. I couldn't love him more.
     On the other hand, the four of us are working closely with Elijah to make sure Cory grows up as well as he can, being an Android and all.
     I place sloppy kisses on both of their foreheads, causing squeaks to emit from both of them. I set them down, and they run off, no doubt going to play with their toys and whatnot.
     Colin hugs me from behind. "Are you ok? You look like you're about to cry."
     I turn around and stare into his soft, crimson colored eyes. Those eyes have seen so many things, good and bad. I rest my head against his chest. "I'm overcome with emotion," I explain. "I'm so happy."
     "I bet! It must be hard taking all this love we shower on you." He kisses my forehead.
Gavin and Conan group hug us.
And, I break. I cry in front of all of them, because I'm so happy, and I can't keep my tears from falling.
"Oh, Conrad," Gavin murmurs. "Don't cry. We love you."
"I know!" I exclaim. "I'm crying, because you guys are making me too happy."
"Let's get this party going, yeah? You'll feel better after a few drinks." Colin winks at me.
I laugh, sniffling a bit. "Of course."

I sit on the balcony, enjoying a well deserved rest. I've been partying nonstop for the past three hours, which adds to my usual work exhaustion. Now, I'm ready to go to bed.
I take a moment to stare out at our yard. We had bought this house four months ago, and I couldn't love it more. There's a balcony that stems off from our room, so Conan, Gavin, and I can smoke without disturbing Colin or the kids. The kitchen is decent sized, there's two bathrooms, two bedrooms, one for us and one for the kids, a living room, a garage, everything a home could need. And, I've made this into the perfect home for me and my family.
Things have just been better.
All except for one. Work. Work has been... a mess. The first time I walked in there without Cyrus, I broke down. Manager gave me a few days off to grieve, and that's what I did. When I came back, it was a little better. It was super hard without Cyrus, but I managed.
I was moved to another pole. Our old pole is no longer in use. Manager turned it into a memorial for Cyrus. Now, patrons and employees come there to pay their respects. That's when I realized how many people Cyrus knew. It seemed like he knew everyone, and I knew no one. Cyrus was such a good, charismatic guy.
Everyone loved him.
I loved him.
But, he's gone, and I can't do anything about it. Sometimes, when I really start missing him, I lay on Colin's chest and listen to Cyrus' Thirium pump beating away inside. It may seem weird or morbid, but it calms me knowing that his most important organ is still alive.
I've never been able to get over it, not really. When Manager gave me a new partner a few weeks ago, I broke down. He reminded me of Cyrus for no reason. He was human. He wasn't even an Android, he looked nothing like Cyrus, and he didn't even sound like him, but he still reminded me of Cyrus. It took me a few days to get used to him. We work well together, now.
Ever since Cyrus died, none of the raunchy customers have come in. Well, they have, but they haven't been the same. Some of them will come up to me and sympathize over Cyrus' death, then they'll watch me, tip me, and leave. It's like everything changed as soon as he died. I've gotten used to the changes, as sudden and weird as they may be.
"Go give them to Dad! Go on!" Colin whispers from behind me. I smile to myself, pretending to not hear the telltale sounds of my kids waddling over to me.
"Dad!" Cory chirps. He holds out two letters to me.
Corvin is right behind him. He holds out his own letter to me in his little hands.
"Oh! What's this?" I take the letters from them.
"It's letters from Dad, and Gavin, and Conan!" Cory explains. "Dad said, we're the messengers!"
"I see. Tell Dad, and Conan, and Gavin that I said thank you. And, thank you to you two for being such good messengers." I ruffle Cory's hair affectionately, then kiss Corvin on his forehead.
"Ok. We will!" Cory turns and trots away, closely follows by his brother.
I watch them leave before turning to the letters. Gavin's is on top, so I open it first. I read the entire, hand-written letter.